Welcome to another confusticating episode of Session Impressions, a Myriad Games Presentation.

In this episode, Jeff, Brian, JM, and Dan discuss Guardians of Graxia, designed by Daniel Kroegel, Chuck Kroegel, and George Chastain; with art Gary Cox, Kerem Beyit, and Lynne Gura, published by Petroglyph.

Your feedback is very important to us. Please email us through MyriadGames.com with your comments, questions, suggestions, abuse, and general ridicule.

If you enjoy our shows, we encourage you to post a positive review on iTunes and email us through MyriadGames.com We'll even send you a complimentary pair of Myriad Games six-sided dice as a token of our appreciation for your support!

Thanks for listening and have fun playing!

MyriadGames, Your Friendly Professional Game Store

Presenter: Chip Bowles

There is really nothing Funny about this: This program addresses issues important to retailers, including a discussion of testing requirements, documentation and possible defenses for accidental violations of the Act.

In today's show we compare convention games to home games and give some great tips for running especially convention games.

Some of the games brought up in the discussion include Universalis, Burning Wheel, Blood Bowl, and All for One: Regime Diabolique.

We also share a bit about RinCon over Columbus Day weekend in Tucson, Arizona.  You must join us!

Catan 5 & 6 Player Extensions

Designed by: Klaus Teuber
Players: 5-6
Play Time: 60-150 minutes
Ages: 12+
MSRP: $20.00

Extend your The Settlers of Catan games to include more players and more scenarios. Extensions are explained for The Settlers of Catan, Catan: Seafarers, Catan: Cities & Knights, and Catan: Traders & Barbarians.

* (0:57) Fear the Con 4 dates have been set!  The convention will be on March 18th and 19th of 2011.  Wing Night will be the night before on March 17th.  Both will be held at the same location as last year: Memorial Hall for the con and Syberg’s for the Wing Night.

* (1:40) Be sure to check out the two Gen Con podcasts we participated in: Chris and Wayne on the Pulp Gamer Media Network live recording and Dan’s talk with the Amorphous Blobcast.

* (3:07) Cape Rust did a very kind review of our show in addition to great articles he’s written on gaming in the military (part 1 and part 2), LARPing (part 1 and part 2), and other subjects for Geek Life.

* (4:04) The Gamer Image Game.  Does your geek self-image line up with how you actually spend your time and money?  And if not, why not?

* (18:07) Why Pat and Dan have no sympathy for people with hard to pronounce names.

* (19:10) Puzzles and riddles in roleplaying games.  How to design, integrate, and present them to the players while avoiding the common sources of frustration.

Hosts: Dan, Johann, Pat, Wayne

Make your move already.  Today's topic is about keeping the game moving and making those tough decisions in a timely manner.  The games we spotlight in today's show include Hecho, Alibi, and Tigris & Euphrates.

BGB is back with a session review show about some terrific newish games. Tasty Minstrel burst onto the scene last year with Homesteaders. Longshot was brewing in designer Chris Handy's mind for years before Z-Man brought it out last year. Court of the Medici is a game published by Z-Man and developed by SORVENT. All three are discussed and I also share some comments about the passing of Kevin Pimental, a terrific gamer and friend from the SoCal board games community.

Show Notes

Homesteaders    Longshot    Court of the Medici

Tasty Minstrel Games    Gateplay.com    SORVENT

In Memorium: Kevin Pimental

Gateway 2010 is just a few days away - and tonight is your last night to pre-register. This show is going to be big and there are awesome things happening. It's so big we had to get TWO Guests of Honor. You won't want to miss it. And, with apologies to David Letterman, here are my top ten reasons why I think you should be there or be triangle (hexagons are cooler).

#10 - New Game Demos: Learn Rattus, Fictionaire, Road Kill Rally, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Chaos, Dweebies, Sturgeon, Nile, Them Pesky Humans and many more games from our crack team of demonstrators.

#9 - Boardgame Library - Come play hundreds of games from our library - you don't need to lug games from home! New additions include the games above plus Tobago, Krysis, Dream Factory, Magical Athlete, Age of Conan, Code 777 (pre-release copy!), and more!

#8 - Rio Grande Design Contest: For the second year in a row, Gateway is hosting a game design contest for Rio Grande and this year, if you choose to help playtest, you'll be shoulder-to-shoulder with our judging panel of great designers. Help us send the best games to Chicago to compete! Sunday afternoon - see Norv Brooks to sign up.

#7 - Playtest Pirate Fluxx: Andy Looney, one of our Guests of Honor, will show you the latest Fluxx game coming soon!

#6 - Party Game Challenge with prizes from Stronghold Games - Our Party Game Challenge is back - a weekend-long event where players earn points playing in both party game tournaments and in open gaming party game play. You have a chance to win a pre-release copy of Code 777 or other cool party game prizes! Also, don't miss the Fictionaire Tournament on Saturday at 1 PM - a new party game from Days of Wonder. The winner of the tournament will take home an exclusive Fictionaire Tin with all four decks of this cool new game. Code 777 and Fictionaire count as triple-points so you will definitely want to try them out!

#5 - Board Game Seminars - Come hear the latest from Looney Labs at 9:00 PM Friday (there may be Pop Tarts). Then stay for a live recording of Boardgame Babylon with Tom Lehmann "Race For The Galaxy: In Depth" at 10:00 PM (there may be additional special guests) and then come out for Tom Lehmann's Q&A session on Saturday morning at 11:00 AM.

#4 - VIP Reception on Friday night - The second hottest ticket of the weekend will be the VIP reception at 7 PM. Dinner is included (and a separate entry fee). Hobnob with our Guests of Honor and many other Special Guests to start off the con right.

#3 - Back To The Future Launch Event - Looney Labs is debuting their game celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Back to the Future movie series at Gateway 2010. There is a launch event on Saturday at 2pm and demos throughout the weekend.

#2 - Andy Versus Everybody! - You won't want to miss the chance to challenge Andy Looney to a game while he's playing against a room of people. Andy will take on all comers on Sunday at 4pm! Be in the center of the ballroom and join in the fun.

#1 - Pandemic: Mass Outbreak! You simply cannot miss Tom Lehmann's awesome Pandemic LARP game. 35-60 people will participate in this awesome game designed for the Z-Man 10th Anniversary at GenCon. Tom and his cohorts will be running it here on Saturday from 2-6p in the Top of the Radisson bar. So, sign up and have a blast saving the planet from a raging pandemic! More info: http://www.strategicon.net/index.php?goto=special_events

More info: www.strategicon.net 

See you at the con!

It's sometimes the props that makes the play.  We talk about those pieces and parts that do it for you.

Some of the games in today's show include Catan 3D, Thunderstone, and Agricola.

Welcome to our 101st Myriad Games Presentation.

In this episode of Table Talk, we discuss a ton of updates from Gen Con 2010 including a conversation about Deck Building Games and how the format of roleplaying games is changing. Enjoy!

Your feedback is very important to us. Please email us through MyriadGames.com with your comments, questions, suggestions, abuse, and general ridicule.

If you enjoy our shows, we encourage you to post a positive review on iTunes and email us through MyriadGames.com We'll even send you a complimentary pair of Myriad Games six-sided dice as a token of our appreciation for your support!

Thanks for listening and have fun playing!

MyriadGames, Your Friendly Professional Game Store

Presenter: Chip Bowles

There is really nothing Funny about this: This program addresses issues important to Game publishers and Importers, including a discussion of testing requirements, documentation and possible defenses for accidental violations of the Act.

* (0:19) The role of online communities in finding, building, and sustaining an audience.  If you’re interested in Dragonlance, be sure to check out the Dragonlance Nexus.

* (3:44) The value of art, entertainment, and ideas on the internet.  Why free may not always be the best price.  Tracy’s plan for nurturing new authors in this environment.  As a side note, Wayne’s serial fiction is being released weekly on the Skies of Glass website.

* (14:34) Tracy’s experience of co-authoring with his wife.  The importance of a continual feedback loop in the creative process.  The struggles of writing and the joys of having written.

* (19:43) The Dragonlance movie.  Watching other people take over your creative properties, and the “original bad deal” that gets you published.

* (25:17) Whether Tracy ever plans to do anything more that’s directly in the RPG market.  His new book series, starting with Song of the Dragon.

* (29:20) What’s up with the dragons?  That question leads into a discussion on the monomyth, cognitive dissonance, and the human penchant for narrative.

Hosts: Chad, Dan, Pat, Wayne

Guest: Tracy Hickman

Don’t forget to get signed up for the special offer of Dragon’s Bard using the discount code found here!  This offer is only open through September 15th.

I grabbed two of my artistically talented friends (Greg did my podcast logo!) and put them on the microphone to talk about their hobby-within-a-hobby: handcrafted games. These guys have both taken a known, existing boardgame or two and hand made their own copies. It might have been to create something that's hard to get, or it might have been to make a personalized, deluxe version of a favorite game. In any case, it's a labor of love, takes time & money, and takes some real craftmanship & technique. I found their stories fascinating, as much because they're so beyond anything I could accomplish myself.

Lincoln Damerst (heccubus on BGG) starts by talking about his copy of the old Parker Brothers proto-eurogame, Survive! In fact, he posted a good description and photos of the process. Greg Wilzbach (gawilz on BGG) talks about his copy of Spekulation, which Lincoln also did! Though he didn't finish the goal (and never posted images of his efforts), Greg also talks about making his own deluxe versions of Wiz-War and Up Front.

The game I tried to pimp out was Kings & Castles, but I'm not finished. It won't end up looking like the fancy games Greg & Lincoln are doing. I'm just trying to replace the boring cardboard counters with colored wooden discs, hand-inked with simple icons.

Want to see that metal version of Big Boss that Lincoln mentioned? Here it is. Whoa...

I talked about Artscow.com in my previous podcast, and here it was mentioned again. That's for images printed on things (cards, throw pillows, watch faces, you name it). For 3D objects made to custom designs, Lincoln mentioned Shapeways.com. Custom dice are just the tip of the iceberg. You could make custom icebergs!

Merchants of Venus is a handcrafted title these guys haven't done--but admire someone else's work. And someone else's. Maybe there's more of this stuff going on than I realized!

Lincoln's wife Nikki Pontius made a very clever graphic overhaul of Würfel Bingo into something that's improved for its theme: Waffle Bingo! I couldn't find any photos online yet, but I'm bugging Lincoln & Nikki to post some, because you really need to see it.

Be sure to check out Harbor Freight for your laminator and lamination needs!


Thanks to Lincoln & Greg for joining me on this show. It was like I was a member of an audience, just hearing these guys tell great stories.

-Mark

P.S. Sorry about the occasional nose-whistle going on. Not sure who that was, but I'm afraid it was me. :-/

Catan: Traders & Barbarians
Designed by: Klaus Teuber
Players: 2-4
Play Time: 60-120 minutes
Ages: 12+
MSRP: $42.00

Delve deep into Catan! In Catan: Traders & Barbariansâ„¢ you'll find lots of cool new ways to explore Klaus Teuber's award-winning game series. You can now play with just 2 players! Add a harbormaster, a friendly robber, or special events. Play with a wealth of new wooden pieces and capabilities.

You can even link your games to create an intriguing campaign. Use these 4 variants and 5 scenarios to reinvent your Catan experience!

More conversations from Meeplefest with Susan McKinley Ross of Qwirkle and Qwirkle Cubes joining the roundtable discussion of design and publishing, then Shelley and I take the mics for reviews of Dice Town and Inotaizu.

Saturday at Meeplefest, Part 1 is then followed by a quick review of the new Vainglorious Games release Armorica.

On the mics this week are Kevin, Ric, Erik, Scott, Chris, Paul & Shelley.  Then we are joined by Melissa, Jenn, and Debbie.  We talk board game publishing and the wives get involved in a discussion of what they see happening in their designer husband's lives.

Games discussed at the table:
Hamsterrolle
Golden City
Kachina (Scott's game)
Long Shot (Chris's game)
Penny for My Thoughts (Paul's game)

Review - Armorica

 

Presenter: John Ward, Executive Director

In Fall of 2009 the GAMA Board of Directors proposed a draft of strategic planning for the association. This seminar is a chance for our members to hear the results of our planning process and the progress GAMA has made thus far.

 

GenCon 2010 is over and we've got some exciting stuff to talk about from our visit.  The boys discuss their entire adventure during an extended Achievements in Gaming.  What they played, what was the new hotness, and highlights.

If you're still with us after all that, be sure to catch Raef and Russ interviewing Matt Wilson.  Matt brings us up to speed with his pet projects, i.e. movies and video games.  And gives us the Privateer Press state of the union, er, pirates.

That should be enough, but why stop there?  Total Fan Girl interviews the cast of The Guild, and we have LIVE FROM GENCON: It's Play by Mob.  

 

All that and our other not-too-horrible segments including: 

- Rapid Fire

- The Hollywood Minute

- The News

- Do You Ever Notice

- & More

If you'd like to discuss the show with us and others in our forum thread: click here.

 

The following fine organizations help make this show possible:

 Myriad Games, on behalf of friendly, professional gaming stores everywhere.

www.Battlefoam.com

www.WolfLair.com

www.TheWarStore.com

www.PaintedFigs.com  

 

 

 ==Quick Reference==

The News:  1 hr 55 min

Matt Wilson Interview:  2hr 0 min

Hollywood Minute: 2hr  41min

Total Fan Girl interviews The Guild: 2 hr 59 min

Play by Mob: 3 hr 12 min

 

 

 Links Discussed in the show:

GenCon Photo Album: http://hashalbum.com/tgngc?page=1

Craig's Bookshelf: Link

Raef's Blog: Link

Craig's Blog: Link

Total Fan Girl Blog: Link

Pulp Gamer Network: Link

 

Times are changing, and not just with the season.  Our new web site is looking sexy and is especially better suited now for video.  We have some part time job openings for someone here in Tucson to do some video work, some writing, or some community development.  Ron is looking for a job and he should not have any problem as he is a great catch.  The Professional Game Store Association has been founded to serve hobby game retailers, as reported by icv2. Minion Games is new on the scene, and we had already mentioned our friends at Sandstorm Productions.

We also talked about Rin Con, Ruthless Diastema Games, the How Stuff Works Blog, gamersgather.com, and Inferno.

Don't forget to catch our interviews on TomG's blog, Go Forth and Game.

Got those acronyms? Now Boardgames To Go has its own existence on Boardgamegeek. This is in addition to this blog & website, which I intend to always be the podcast's true home. However, for some it may be convenient to keep up with the podcast from BGG, along with their other favorite boardgame podcasts. Like so many features that Aldie adds to that amazing site, its full potential isn't yet obvious. I remember thinking there was no point to Geek Gold, and not much more point to Geeklists.

I was proven wrong. :-)

I'm not sure what's going to happen on BGTG's page over at BGG. For now it automatically takes the same RSS feed that lets you subscribe to shows on iTunes, or keep up with my posts in a blogreader. The way BGG works, though, its users will figure out. It's community-driven content. If you're a fan of the podcast, you can help out by adding links, ideas, and information in the appropriate sections. Thanks.


-Mark

P.S. This might mean the end of the newly-formed BGTG guild over on BGG. I'm not sure yet.